


New Friends and Newer Experiences

by dreamthievespart17



Series: Origin of Belonging [2]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: First Kiss, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, group project
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:40:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25926781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamthievespart17/pseuds/dreamthievespart17
Summary: And they were roommates! (*group project partners) AKA how Swan joins the Dream Pack
Relationships: Jiang/Joseph Kavinsky, Joseph Kavinsky/Prokopenko, Joseph Kavinsky/Swan
Series: Origin of Belonging [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1881607
Kudos: 5





	New Friends and Newer Experiences

Was a group project really necessary? Swan seriously doubted it. They already had a test the next week anyway, so why add on another assignment? Unfortunately, the teacher insisted and now here he was having to miss lacrosse practice to work on some stupid English project. 

His tires screeched as he rolled the car to a stop, having pulled up to a huge mansion in the foothills of Henrietta that matched the address he’d been sent. He parked and approached the building. 

After knocking twice, ringing the doorbell and waiting for several minutes with no response, he sighed and pushed open the door, a bit surprised that it was even unlocked. 

They’d been paired up randomly for this project, but Swan had lucked out, ending up working with a guy named Jiang who had a reputation for being one of the most hardworking people in school. It was a relief knowing that he could probably just slack off and they’d still do well. But still, having to miss practice for some stupid report was not how he’d wanted to spend his afternoon. 

Standing in the foyer of the mansion, he cleared his throat and called out a quick ‘hello?’ 

He had just turned around, ready to give up and at least try to make it for the last hour of practice when someone appeared from the next room. Interestingly enough, it wasn’t Jiang. 

“Um, hi?” The stranger said, looking at Swan with a confused look on his face. “Can I help you?”

“Uh, hi… does Jiang live here? We’re supposed to be working on a project for English.”

The boy nodded, pale blond hair glinting in the dim light of the room. “Oh, yeah. He mentioned he had to work on something with someone today. I’ll go get him, he’s just upstairs.”

He turned and ran upstairs before Swan could reply, leaving him along once again in the doorway. With the guy gone and no longer capturing his attention, his mind quickly grew bored and he glanced around the room curiously to try and see what it could tell him about the occupants of the house. 

Swan may not have been the most observant of people, but there was no way that he could miss the empty beer cans scattered across the coffee table or the too-full ashtray accompanying them. He raised his eyebrows. Jiang gave off such a professional air that it was hard to believe he left trash around his house, but then again, the door had been unlocked and he’d been greeted by another boy, so maybe they didn’t live with any adults. 

At Aglionby, it wasn’t uncommon for students to not live on campus, but they were required to be supervised by some sort of guardian. With the way this place looked, Swan doubted they followed that rule. 

A few seconds later, Jiang hurried down the stairs, clutching his bag. 

“Hey. Sorry about the wait. I was just catching up on some math homework.” 

“It’s chill.” Swan replied, waving off his apology. “So who was that guy that came to the door? Your friend?”

A faint smiled glimmered onto Jiang’s lips. “Of sorts. That’s Proko. I live here with him and Kavinsky. Have you ever heard of them?”

Swan shook his head. “Nah, I just started here a couple weeks ago, so I don’t really know that many people outside of the guys on my team.”

Jiang nodded. “Okay. Well, if they decide to come downstairs, I’ll introduce you.”

Swan flashed him a thumbs up. 

“Alright in the meantime, we should work on the project.” Jiang said, leading Swan into the kitchen and settling down on a table that looked like it was rarely occupied. “Let’s get started.”

—

About an hour later, Swan and Jiang were finishing up the first section of their project. It had gone better than Swan had initially anticipated; Jiang was just as intelligent as he’d been led to believe, but he was still pretty down-to-Earth and managed to encourage Swan to do his part without being too pushy about it. After such a good work session, Swan was confident that they’d do well on the assignment.

As he was just beginning to pack up his papers, Jiang spoke. 

“Y’know… if you’re ever need help in English or any of your other classes, I could probably help. I actually really like tutoring and it’s been fun working with you so far.”

Swan opened his mouth to decline, when he thought better of it. Jiang was intelligent, helpful, and understanding, not to mention very good looking. Saying no would only hurt Swan, so he nodded and threw Jiang a quick smile. 

“Sure. That sounds great. I’m usually busy after school with sports, but…” Swan trailed off as he heard footsteps approaching from the other room. 

“Jiang. Who’s your friend?”

A guy with white sunglasses and a razor sharp smile was leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen like he owned the place, which as far as Swan knew, he did. He had his arm around the blond boy from earlier – Proko, Jiang had called him – and the casual way that Proko leaned into him had it obvious that they were _very_ close. This must be Kavinsky. 

Ah, Swan thought, so they’re a thing. He felt a slight twinge of disappointment at the realization. He may have found Jiang attractive, but Kavinsky was something else. He radiated an aura of danger and anticipation, as if at any moment he might dash off to start a fight or dare you to race him. Just looking at him was exhilarating and Swan was instantly hooked. 

“Oh, he’s from my English class. Group project.” Jiang replied easily and the boy nodded before turning to Swan. 

“So what’s your deal?” He asked, phrasing it more as a challenge than a question.

“What do you mean?” Swan questioned in return. 

“What’s your deal?” Kavinsky repeated. “Why’re you at Aglionby? Kicked out of your old school? Parents caught you selling pot? Got in one too many fights?” 

Ah, Swan thought, now I get it. “Nope. It’s actually a pretty stupid reason.”

Kavinsky waved a hand at him, gesturing for him to elaborate further. 

“My parents found out I’m gay.”

Kavinsky threw back his head and laughed, a harsh sound like knives clashing. 

“Don’t tell me,” Kavinsky said, “they actually thought sending you to an all-boys school would fix that? How fucking stupid are they?”

It seemed like a rhetorical question, but Swan answered anyway. “Dude, you don’t even know the half of it. First my dad wanted to kick me out, but my mom convinced him to just send me away. I guess I should be grateful, but I can’t help hating her too for not even trying to stand up for me.”

Kavinsky nodded knowingly. “So, what? Did they catch you fucking another guy or something?”

Swan shook his head. “Nah, I told them. Got sick of hiding it.”

“And they reacted like that? God, parents are such assholes. Can’t even find it in them to love their own children.” 

Swan sensed that there was something deeper about that statement, but he wisely chose not to press it. 

“So have you ever fucked a guy?” Kavinsky asked casually. 

“What?” Swan replied, caught off guard. 

“I asked you a simple question. Have you ever fucked a guy?” He repeated the question slowly, enunciating each syllable in order to ensure Swan’s comprehension. 

“No,” Swan truthfully replied. “Never has the opportunity. Never kissed a guy either. Was hoping that would happen sometime at this school, but no luck so far.”

“So do you wanna make out?” Kavinsky offered, smirking. 

“What? Aren’t you with him?” Swan asked, gesturing towards Proko. 

Kavinsky smirked again. “Oh, I see. You don’t really get how this works, do you?” He seemed to be getting some strange sense of pleasure out of Swan’s confused expression. “I’m with Proko, yes, but I’m also with Jiang and I can be with whoever I want. It’s not a monogamous sort of thing.”

“Oh,” Swan got out, unsure on how to reply. “I mean… yeah, okay then.”

At his answer, Kavinsky removed his arm from where it was slung across Proko’s shoulders and walked over to Swan. 

“Stand up,” he ordered and Swan complied. 

“Are you ready?” Kavinsky asked and he nodded, heart fluttering in his chest. 

This was really happening. Swan may have never kissed a guy before, but he’d imagined this moment a thousand times over and the fact that it was about to happen for real was dizzying. 

He closed his eyes and the press of Kavinsky’s lips against his own took his breath away. He didn’t care that it probably meant nothing to Kavinsky when it meant everything to him. It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter because he was kissing a guy – finally – and one who he’d found undeniably attractive since he’d first seen him. 

It was incredible and when Kavinsky pulled back for a few seconds, Swan smiled and he almost thought he saw a bit of his own excitement reflected in Kavinsky’s eyes, before Swan shut them once again as he pressed his mouth to Kavinsky’s once more. 

Kavinsky’s lips were dry and cracked and his breath tasted like cigarettes, but that somehow made Swan like it even more, those aspects of it giving the kiss a dangerous edge. Heat flared in him as Kavinsky worked his tongue into Swan’s mouth, toying with his senses and teasing him as he flicked him with the tip of it. Swan tilted his head to the side to give him better access to his mouth as he stepped closer, pressing his hips against Kavinsky’s, the other boy immediately beginning to grind his crotch against Swan’s at the invitation. Swan couldn’t help but let a moan escape at the sensation and Kavinsky reacted by dragging his hand down Swan’s chest and up his shirt. They were a tangle of limbs and lips and teeth and as quickly as it had intensified, it was over. 

Kavinsky stepped back and wiped off his mouth. 

“Congratulations. You’ve been kissed.”

Swan was still reeling from the act, breathing hard – and hard in other places as well – as he attempted to get himself together. 

“By the way,” Kavinsky began, “what’s your name?”

“Swan.”

“I’m Kavinsky. Great to meet you.” He said with a wink. 

Turning to Proko, he asked. “What do you think of him?”

Proko smiled. “I like him and Jiang does too. Can we keep him?” He asked with a short giggle. 

Kavinsky grinned at him. “We’ll have to wait and see.”

He turned back to Swan. “So what do you say? Wanna come hang out with us sometime? Seems like we’re all impressed with your good first impression.”

“Uh… okay.” Swan replied. 

Kavinsky winked at him again. “Hey, maybe if this whole thing works out, you could join our group. You’re new, so it’s not like you have many other friends right?”

Swan nodded and Kavinsky did too, as if he’d already known the answer. 

“Alright, lets do it.” Kavinsky declared. “Stay.” The last word was more of a command than a request and Swan nodded again, agreeing to abide before knowing what he was getting into, but somehow finding it in himself to believe that it would work out. 

“I will.”

**Author's Note:**

> The title is kinda dumb, but I couldn’t really think of anything else. I was actually having writers block about this whole story for a while, so I’m glad I finally came up with something. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my interpretation of Swan. Feel free to fight me in the comments with your own head cannons about him and maybe I’ll change my own perspective on what he’s like/his backstory.


End file.
